Today’s post is a new addition to our myriad of releases posts! If you’re looking for books for age groups younger than young adult, perhaps even for small children, then trust me, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. A round-up of all the middle grade and picture book releases of 2021! It’s a little delayed, it’s true, partly because we decided to do this post on a whim, but it’s here! And there’s so many exciting books on offer!
MIDDLE GRADE
Goldie Vance: The Hocus-Pocus Hoax by Lilliam Rivera (sapphic mc)
Meow or Never by Jazz Taylor (Black sapphic mc with panic attacks)
Wolf Moon: The Invasion of the Dolls by Ceeley Mack (trans mc) 🌈
The Broken Raven by Joseph Elliott (gay character)
The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Kevin Sylvester & Basil Sylvester (nonbinary mc) 🌈
The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant (side m/m)
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. by David Levithan (gay mc, trans side character) 🌈
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean (gay father, lesbian characters, gay characters) 🌈
Proud of Me by Sarah Hagger-Holt (sapphic mc, f/f parents) 🌈
The Deep-Sea Duke by Lauren James (gay mc)
Tell No Tales by Sam Maggs & Kendra Wells (sapphic mcs)
Spin With Me by Ami Polonsky (sapphic mc, nonbinary li)
Princess at Heart by Connie Glynn (lesbian mc) 🌈
Girl Haven by Lilah Sturges & Meaghan Carter (trans mc, Black lesbian character, sapphic characters) 🌈
Alessia in Atlantis: The Forbidden Vial by Nathalie Laine (m/m parents)
All You Knead is Love by Tanya Guerrero (gnc mc)
Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi (bi character)
Middletown by Sarah Moon (gnc sapphic mc) 🌈
The Edge of the Ocean by LD Lapinski (sapphic mc, nonbinary character, trans character) 🌈
Elves on the Fifth Floor by Francesca Cavallo (f/f parents)
The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. by Jen Carney (f/f parents)
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff (trans mc) 🌈
The Anti-Book by Raphael Simon (f/f parents) 🌈
Trouble in the Stars by Sarah Prineas (genderfluid mc)
Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas (gay mc)
How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby (sapphic mc with depression and anxiety, nonbinary li, side f/f) 🌈
Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake (f/f parents) 🌈
Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden (nonbinary mc)
Mission Multiverse by Rebecca Caprara (nonbinary character)
Tomoko Takes the Lead by Kit Rosewater & Sophie Escabasse (sapphic characters) 🌈
Glass Coffin by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (f/f, m/m)
Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow (sapphic mc) 🌈
Generation Misfits by Akemi Dawn Bowman (nonbinary character)
The Street Belongs to Us by Karleen Pendleton Jiménez (Mexican American gnc mc)
The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor (Chinese American sapphic mc) 🌈
Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani (bi character) 🌈
Both Can Be True by Jules Machias (genderfluid mc) 🌈
Lilla the Accidental Witch by Eleanor Crewes (lesbian mc) 🌈
The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane (nonbinary mc)
Black Boy Joy ed. by Kwame Mbalia (anthology, achillean & nonbinary authors) 🌈
Once Upon a Crime by Robin Stevens (lesbian mc)
The Flyers by Beth Turley (sapphic mc)
Obie is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar (trans mc) 🌈
A Touch of Ruckus by Ash Van Otterloo (sapphic mc, nonbinary li) 🌈
Other Boys by Damian Alexander (gay mc) 🌈
Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani (gay mcs) 🌈
The Insiders by Mark Oshiro (gay mc) 🌈
Ciel in All Directions by Sophie Labelle, trans. by Andrea Zanin (gnc trans mc) 🌈
City of Thieves by Alex London (nonbinary character) 🌈
Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens (Black sapphic mc)
Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman (trans mc, gay side character)
This is Our Rainbow ed. by Katherine Locke & Nicole Melleby (anthology) 🌈
The Very Merry Murder Club ed. by Serena Patel & Robin Stevens (anthology) 🌈
The Golden Hour by Niki Smith (gay mc)
Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee (sapphic mc)
Tidesong by Wendy Xu (lesbian aunts)
The Art of Running Away by Sabrina Kleckner (gay character)
Keisha and The Rise of the Legacy by T.R. Tells (bi mc, pan mc) 🌈
Everything Together by Benjamin Klas (m/m parents) 🌈
Another Kind by Cait May & Trevor Bream (nonbinary mcs)
PICTURE BOOKS
Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson & Qin Leng (gender neutral world, side non-cishet relationship)
Sam Is My Sister by Ashley Rhodes-Courter & MacKenzie Haley (trans character)
Adventures with My Daddies by Gareth Peter & Garry Parsons (m/m parents) 🌈
Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate (gay grandad) 🌈
Prince & Knight: Tale of the Shadow King by Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis (m/m)
What Are Your Words? by Katherine Locke & Anne Passchier (genderqueer mc)
Jacob’s School Play: Starring He, She, and They by Ian Hoffman and Sarah Hoffman
Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton & James Mayhew (m/m) 🌈
The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant & Lydia Corry (f/f parents)
Being You: A First Conversation About Gender by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, Anne/Andy Passchier (nonfiction)
My Sister Daisy by Adria Karlsson (trans mc)
Early One Morning by Lawrence Schimel & Elīna Brasliņa (f/f parents)
Small Knight and the Anxiety Monster by Manka Kasha (nonbinary mc)
Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild & Charlene Chua (f/f) 🌈
Fastest Woman on Earth by Francesca Cavallo (nonfiction)
The Loudest Bark by Gail Schwartz, Lucie Gagnon & Amélie Ayotte (nonbinary? trans mc)
Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier & Andrea Tsurumi (m/m couple)
Stitch by Stitch: Cleve Jones and the AIDS Memorial Quilt by Rob Sanders & Jamey Christoph (nonfiction)
They’re So Flamboyant by Michael Genhart & Tony Neal (gay-coded characters)
Bedtime, Not Playtime! by Lawrence Schimel & Elīna Brasliņa (m/m parents)
To note: I initially included The Greatest Superpower by Alex Sanchez on this list, but removed it on account of reviews detailing transphobia in it here and here. This book has remained on previous releases lists with a note however. Another book I removed is Abby, Tried and True by Donna Gephart, which normalises the existence of Israel.
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